I agree Shark Fu. I think people get their terms mixed up. An oppressed group may not be in a position to oppress, but that doesn't exclude them from having bigoted attitudes towards others.

For example, it is a rather common opinion amongst civil rights activists and folks in social science fields to claim that oppressed groups can't discriminate, based on the fact that they don't have the power to create or enforce a discriminatory system based on race, hair color, social class - you know, whatever.

And I can understand their point and largely agree with it. But that doesn't mean that they can't have ignorant, hateful, bigoted attitudes, just as you say.

I completely agree with you, just because some one is part of an oppressed group does not make them above being a jerk.Thinking otherwise is an assumption. and assumptions are one of the things that frustrate me the most, so im sorry that some one emailed you in that manner.

Prejudice is about power, as any white man who lives for a period of time in New Orleans can attest, where the shoe is on the proverbial other foot.

Sometimes this does have its amusing side, like when a man on the bus, unprovoked by me, began hassling me and yelling at me to "go back to Europe".

Sometimes it's not so funny - having the bus driver slam the bus door in your face when you are trying to get on in the pouring rain or having a guy throw a bottle at your head because he feels you owe him $ because you are a white male.

LOL... Don't think it was actually meant as an invitation to rant on personal experience (so I won't). So I'll just say, you kinda rock right there ;-) (Elsewhere too, added you to my favorites long before I saw this)